Put Items Away–Kitchen Tip

“I learned in 7th grade home ec to always use an item then put it away. (This was a long time ago when all girls were required to take home ec). I take out baking soda, measure, put back in the cupboard. Cooking is more pleasant when I don’t have a bunch of containers to put away at the end and dirty dishes to wash.”

I agree with Shannon. I do this as much as possible, but never really thought about it.

Comments

Yes, absolutely! I also put just a little hot soapy water in the sink before I start any project so that it’s a breeze to wash up the few dirty things as I go, and nothing ever piles up! I don’t feel too wasteful on water because I just use a little bit each time, about an inch in the sink!

No, I don’t put them away immediately. Too many times I have been interrupted by a phone call or a family member and then couldn’t remember whether I had added that ingredient…..some interesting results. I do, however, close the container and set it aside in a different location on the counter once I’ve used it; then when the recipe is cooking/baking, I put away the ingredients. Sometimes the containers might have a spot of oil or extra flour on them and need cleaning before they are put away.

I do exactly the same. I need to have everything I need right in front of me, but I hate having a chaotic and messy kitchen, so everything gets put away bit by bit as I use the ingredients. The only exception is sometimes when I bake bread and I am worried about the rising time of the yeast. In that case, I usually wait until the dough is set up to rise and then continue to clean up.

I pull out all the ingredients needed for a recipe and place them on my left. s measure them out, I move it to the right, ready to be put away. I don’t immediately stash items because I often modify recipes as I go particularly if a batter isn’t rising properly or looks too dry, etc. Once it goes into the oven, I immediately put things away and clean the mixing tools. Another reason I do what I do is I often move to a second recipe that uses many of the same ingredients.

I pre-measure like the do on cooking shows. So, if I know I am going to make banana bread when I get home in the evening, I’ll measure out the dry ingredients in one bowl and place the wet ingredients (unopened) in another. That way when I get home, everything is room temperature (ideal for baking) and handy. Usually all I have to put away is flavoring (vanilla) and oil or such.

I also like to make my own mixes. I bake primarily with nut flours so I will line up my empty jars and measure out dry ingredients for bread or cupcakes or whatever and do five mixes at once, cap them with a tight lid, label them, and it makes for a much faster mixing when I’m busy but need birthday cupcakes for someone.

Right now I am forced to put things away as I use them, but it’s a lesson that I’ve been forced to learn! We sold our house with my dream kitchen (in terms of counter space) in order to move closer to my job, and we are temporarily living in an apartment. This has taught me to put things away as I use them out of necessity. Apparently, I take up the amount of space that I have in ANY situation! 🙂